Thursday letters to the editor

June 14, 2012

'Progress' is a big word

Re "Lot more progress needed in D.C.," June 6 editorial:

Progress combines the maintenance of clear focus with a forward, driven sense of direction. It is an action fueled by unity and measured by the footprints of advancement; a refurbishment of lethargy, a cousin to vitality and an offspring to achievement. Does not protest inequality, but respects the disparity that composes the human race and condition without presence of imposition.

While encouraging individual freedoms, it is the heartbeat to the betterment of the people it represents, and a synonym for this great nation.

Let us applaud Senators Marco Rubio, Lamar Alexander and Mark Warner for using this principle as a backdrop for their political behavior. And may others in Washington follow suit with their mindset of an America United.

In his June 3 column about the recent Gallup Poll on abortion ("America hasn't made hard right turn"), Gary Stein writes, "…you can play with numbers and make them say anything you want." Which is exactly what Mr. Stein did.

Mr. Stein pulled out respondents who said abortion should be illegal in all circumstances (20 percent) and those who offered no opinion (3 percent), and recklessly stated that the remaining 77 percent think abortion should be legal giving readers a false interpretation of the numbers.

Dig further into that 77 percent and you will find only 25 percent saying abortion should be legal under any circumstance and 13 percent legal under most circumstances. Thirty-nine percent said abortion should be legal only in a few circumstances.

Under Roe v. Wade, abortion is legal in America, for any reason, even late in pregnancy. The Gallup poll tells us that just 38 percent of Americans support abortion as it is currently practiced, leaving a substantial majority — 59 percent who oppose the vast majority of the 1.2 million abortions performed annually in the U.S. That's more than 54 million since 1973.

Further, had Mr. Stein read the historical data trends released by Gallup, he would have found this significant majority opposing most or all abortions has existed in every Gallup poll since 1994.

There is reason for pro-life optimism knowing that 59 percent of the country won't allow another 54 million unborn children to become just another set of statistics in Mr. Stein's numbers game.

Carol Tobias, president, National Right to Life, Washington D.C.

Save our green space

Really? Again? You're trying to finagle a change in land use for agricultural reserve lands? How shortsighted! For less than $2 million in our coffers, you think PBC residents are better served by newer, larger houses? Come on! We already have an enormous inventory of unsold homes in our area. Hold onto the land, if you don't have the resources for civic development now.

We can never have enough green land, and we can never get it back. Why not lease the land to a farmer, so that we can really use the land as intended by the taxpayers?

Surely, local residents would stop at a farmstand to buy local produce, as all of the local farms have disappeared. Save the land, and later you can decide if walking trails or ball fields would be useful and affordable, adding more quality to our county.

As a horse owner in the agricultural reserve for over 15 years, my heart skips a beat every time I read an article such as the one in the Sun Sentinel that the commission is considering a land sale to GL Homes for more homes. No!

At this time, we still have a very active horse community in South County and we are being pushed out. If our horses go, so do our homes, which, believe me, already account for quite a large tax base!

Remember, we can never get this green space back! Please keep the "AG" in the Ag Reserve.

Roni Freedman, Highland Beach

Recall elections

Could both parties please agree that these recall elections are a big waste of time and money?

When a candidate is elected in a regular election, the only reason he or she should be recalled should be if a crime was committed, not because someone doesn't like their policies.

Maybe the gentleman on the news who claimed that "Democracy is dead" should have a little review of democracy. Democracy is the will of the majority of the people and Scott Walker received the majority of the votes (both of the times he ran against Tom Barrett).

Mary Werle, Coral Springs

High praise for medical rescue workers

I am a 48-year-old father of three children, and I credit the City of Weston Fire Rescue and Cleveland Clinic Hospital for saving my life and sparing my beautiful family from the tragedy of losing their father.

While playing basketball at Weston Regional Park on May 26, I suffered a serious heart attack in which my main artery was completely blocked.

If it were not for the responsiveness and professionalism of the Weston paramedics and the incredible staff at Cleveland Clinic, I would have died. It took only 75 minutes from the start of the attack to the completion of my emergency surgery, a situation in which every minute counts.

I have a renewed appreciation for all medical rescue personnel, not just Weston's, and want to express my appreciation for all that have the courage to be in this line of work and for all that they do.

Art Silberman, Weston

More to read

Previously published letters, commentary and editorials can be found at SunSentinel.com/opinion.